EPL: Why Alisson Refused To Take Liverpool’s No.1 Shirt From Karius

Liverpool’s new goalkeeper, Alisson has rejected the opportunity to take Loris Karius’ No.1 shirt at the club.

Manager Jurgen Klopp made the decision to sign Alison in a £65 million deal from Roma and has already confirmed that his new world-record signing will be his first-choice goalkeeper for the new season.

Karius, who followed up his nightmare display in the Champions League final against Real Madrid with a series of errors in pre-season this summer, has now admitted that his future is up in the air following Alisson’s arrival.

The German still has the No.1 jersey ahead of the new season and Liverpool have yet to officially confirm what number Alisson will wear.

However, Brazilian news outfit, UOL, reports that Alisson turned down the offer of taking Karius No.1 shirt shortly after he arrived at Anfield.

The report also claimed that following conversations with the club, Alisson opted not to take the No.1 jersey “out of respect for Karius.”

Alisson is likely to take the vacant No.13 but that will change if Karius leaves Anfield before the transfer window closes next Thursday.

The Brazil international is set to make his debut in Liverpool’s next pre-season fixture against Napoli on Saturday.

Klopp told Liverpool’s official website, “We should not waste time. Yes, he will play. I’m very pleased [to be working with him] but first of all it’s very important he can start now because the season starts in one-and-a-half weeks.

“Each player in the world needs training and time to adapt to his teammates. We have two games to do that before we start so it’s really good.

“He obviously has a real presence, he’s smart, he’s very nice and it’s good to have him around.”